In the case of clutches used in motor vehicles, the clutch pedal can be eliminated when the clutch is driven by an actuator. This actuator can be electrical, hydraulic or pneumatic, an electromechanical clutch actuation being preferred.
When automatically operated clutch systems having a clutch actuator are used, it turns out to be beneficial to utilize the actuating force to engage the clutch. In this context, it has been shown that the force characteristic of a engaged clutch is essentially characterized by the characteristic of the lining springiness. When compensation is carried out by using a linear coil spring in the clutch actuator, the actuating force can only be divided approximately in half, a change in the direction of force being noted.